If the phone lives that long, then absolutely, yes.
I don't just arbitrarily change phones just because my contract expires. For years, I have sat back and watched as carriers buy out ours. I started in the 90's with 360 Communications which was eventually bought out by AllTell, and then about 2 years ago, Verizon. I've renewed contracts throughout the years, but relatively infrequently, and only when a phone actually broke. As a result, I often go a year or more out of contract as long as the phone endures. While I love gadgets, my phone is essential to my job and when I have everything working the way I need it to, I don't change it. It even causes a bit of stress when I'm forced to change. Going from Palm OS to Windows a few years back was quite painful, but I had to. My Palm 755p died after several years of reliability. Insurance replaced it with a Palm Treo Pro w/Windows OS. I was told it was my only option. I adjusted and was getting along fine with the Treo Pro. My wife was still satisfied with her reliable Palm 755p.
We recently received a letter in the mail stating that for some time, Verizon has been putting out a separate data stream for "legacy" AllTel customers. (I've attached the Verizon letter for those who care.) They'd been nudging customers with incentives to upgrade their phones to Verizon phones. Well, now, this flyer indicated that as of January 1 they would be taking down the data stream, effectively making our AllTel phones dumb phones with basic calling and text capabilities only. The flyer indicated that we could receive $100 off "select" smart phones (but it didn't say which phones were eligible for the discount). It turns out it is dependent on the "retiring" phone as to what phones you'll receive the $100 discount. My Palm Treo Pro and my wife's Palm 755p were both eligible. So, great! We were going to get the $199 phones for $99/each with contract. Then at checkout, the rep told me that our accounts were eligible for further discounts. Apparently Verizon credits you for every month you're out of contract. I had racked up an additional $30 discount and my wife had a $50 discount. So we got 2 GS3s for $118. I feel like that was a pretty good deal, especially since a contract means nothing to me. I simply don't like to change phones when everything is working the way I like it. So, it is my hope that the GS3 will last a while.
All that said, the transition to Android was the least painful, yet. In fact, it was painless. It has been a very satisfying experience and I love the phone.